It Takes Two
by cg2006
Summary: It takes two...to hook up a few of Konoha's ninjas together! But will their attempts be successful, or just plain trouble[some]? [POSSIBLY] yaoi pairings, since there are only five kunoichi after all.
1. A Prologue Sort of Thing

It was a nice summer morning; clear blue skies, warm-but-not-(yet) scorching sun, and a gentle breeze that ruffled the hairs of the two boys standing on the bridge. Well, one standing on the bridge. That was Uchiha Sasuke. The other was perched on the railing of the bridge. That was Uzumaki Naruto. They were waiting for their sensei, Hatake Kakashi, as usual. But they also waited for Haruno Sakura, their third teammate. It was strange that she wasn't at the designated meeting spot yet, for she was never known to be late before.

"I wonder if something happened to Sakura-chan," Uzumaki Naruto wondered aloud, still squatting on the railing of the bridge. Sasuke was leaning against the opposite railing with his elbows propped up on the cool metal, and one ankle crossed over the other, a cool, relaxed pose. He stared on silently, not commenting on Naruto's comment, though he also wondered if something might have happened to the kunoichi.

Naruto sighed and stood up, obviously bored by the long waiting they suffered, er, experienced. He began to pace back and forth, as if in deep though. Well, he wasn't exactly in _deep _thought, but he _was_ actually thinking. He thought, _This would have been an awesome chance for me if Sasuke-teme(**bastard**) was the one gone. And then it'd be me and Sakura-chan together..._ The whiskers on his cheeks curved as he grinned a very sly looking grin. Naruto turned around, but this time he intended to walk all the way to the end of the bridge railing. Sasuke noticed that out of the corner of his eye, and turned his head to look at Naruto.

"Oi, dobe(**dead last**)," he called. "Where do you think you're going?"

Naruto turned around and stuck his tongue out at his rival. "None of your business!" he shouted back, and kept walking. Uchiha Sasuke rolled his eyes, and turned around in the other direction, not caring as long as his teammate didn't kill himself. He didn't notice when Naruto suddenly stopped and let his mouth fall open.

"Hey, Sasuke! I think I just saw Sakura-chan!"

Sasuke turned around with a bored expression on his face and asked in a bored tone, "So, what was she doing?"

"Running. Really fast," Naruto reported. He stood on his tiptoes. "Hey, she's coming closer, and...wait, is that _Fuzzy-brows_?!!"

_Lee? What would he be doing here?_ Sasuke was just as perplexed as the blond.

"She's coming!" Naruto yelled excitedly. "Hi, Sakura-chaa--(_cough cough_)!!"

Suddenly a red blur whizzed by, but not without a hasty "Ohaiyo(**good morning**), Sasuke-kun!". Sasuke covered his nose and mouth, so as not to inhale the ridiculous large amount of dust and dirt left flying in her trail. Soon after, a green blur dashed by, (sending another trail of dust and dirt up) yelling, "Oh, Sakura-san, the beautiful blossom of Konoha!"

"Go away, Lee!" was the shriek in reply.

"Please accept my undying love for you!!"

"I said 'go away'!!!"

They were soon out of sight, and hearing range. The dust finally cleared, and Sasuke looked around to find that Naruto was no longer in sight.

"Naruto?" There was a splash below, as if in response. Sasuke approached the opposite railing and leaned over. He almost laughed at the sight. Naruto was half out of the stream, with his jacket drenched and his blond spikes plastered down on his head. He had a miserable look to him.

"Dammit!" the wet one yelled, and slapped the water with his arms. Sasuke smirked.

"Shut up, teme," Naruto growled.

"I didn't say anything."

Naruto glared at Sasuke. Then he sighed and swam to dry land, where he took off his jacket. He wrung it so most of the water was gone and not dripping, but it was still damp and uncomfortable to wear.

"I'm going home," he told the other boy, and stomped off, grumbling something inaudible. Sasuke decided he'd head for home too.

...A few minutes later...

On the same bridge, a poof of smoke suddenly appeared and revealed itself to be the one and only Hatake Kakashi.

"What? My cute little subordinates aren't here? Hm..." He shrugged. "Oh, well. I was only going to have them spar a bit today anyway." He took out a little orange book, made himself comfortable, and began to read.

* * *

Sound interesting? Does it have potential? Personally, I think it does. It might just seem random now, but it'll come in time. :) I'll get the next chapter up later today! 


	2. Lunch and a Plan

**Later that day...**

_Knock knock._

Uchiha Sasuke cursed whoever was at the door. He was in the middle of cooking the noodles. _They'd better be quick…_he thought grimly, as he turned down the flame, _or else they'll ruin my noodles. _He wiped his hands on a towel and padded over to the door. It was almost noon. _Who could it possible be? Better not be some random girl…_Opening the door, he froze, and then blinked in confusion.

"Naruto?"

Sure enough, it was his blond haired teammate, grinning like always.

"Hey, bastard! Whatcha doing? Smells good."

"Cooking," Sasuke growled.

Naruto's grin widened. "Uchiha Sasuke—cooking?!" Naruto let out a roar of laughter, which pissed off his teammate even more.

"What do you want?" he said through clenched teeth.

"I just wanna talk to you about something."

"…" Sasuke pondered over whether or not he should let Naruto in. He settled on a reluctant yes. "Get inside, dumbass."

Naruto blinked. "Huh?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and grabbed Naruto's wrist, pulling him in. "Get inside." He slammed the door and quickly returned to his noodles that were almost overcooked. He stirred them with a pair of chopsticks, insuring that they didn't stick to the pot. Naruto took a spot at the table.

"Heh, Uchiha Sasuke, cooking," Naruto chuckled. He was amused, though interested. "Never knew you did it."

Sasuke threw a look at the blond. "Why wouldn't I? It's a daily survival skill, which you don't have, dead-last."

A blond eyebrow twitched. "Teme…" Though he couldn't argue; Naruto didn't really know how to cook very well, if at all. He leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. He watched Sasuke chop vegetables and throw them into the steaming pot. _It does smell good though…like…_

"So what do you want?" Sasuke demanded, still with his back turned to his new guest.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at the hostility. "Jeez, do you hate me that much?"

"If I 'hated you that much' then you would've been booted out clear back to your own house."

"…True…" Naruto agreed, and sat quietly.

Sasuke still didn't get an answer. "So what did you come here for? Not for a free lunch, right?"

Naruto spluttered, "N-no, of course not!" He huffed. "As if anything cooked by a cold hearted bastard like you would taste good."

A vein popped out on Sasuke's temple, and he growled quietly.

"Well, anyway. You…you know this morning, when Sakura ran by, with Fuzzy-brows chasing her?"

"…" Sasuke stirred the contents of the pot, and then opened a drawer, digging for a soup spoon.

"I was thinking…y'know…" Naruto let a sly grin slip onto his face. "What if we hooked 'em up together?"

Sasuke finally looked at Naruto. He said loudly and clearly, "You are an idiot."

"Aw, come on, it'll be fun!"

"No." He brought two steaming hot bowls to the table, and set one in front of Naruto. "Here."

Naruto looked down at the contents, and his eyes widened. "R-ramen?!! Wow! Sasuke, I might just give you more credit for this!"

"Hn. Whatever. It's healthier than that cup ramen crap you eat," Sasuke muttered, and went back to the kitchen area to get two pairs of chopsticks and two spoons. He placed them in front of Naruto, next to the bowl, and sat himself down.

"Meh…" Naruto glared at the boy seated across from him. Then his face lightened up again in excitement as he picked up the chopsticks. "Itadakimasu!" he exclaimed, and dug in.

Sasuke wasn't amazed at the speed Naruto was slurping up the noodles. He was astounded at how the blond practically _inhaled_ them.

"Moron, slow down before you choke on it. I don't want to perform CPR on you."

Naruto paused and glared at Sasuke momentarily, before resuming the "inhaling" process. Sasuke sighed; he cautioned him, and now it wasn't his fault at all if Naruto died from choking on a noodle. He started on his own bowl.

"So," Naruto mumbled through a half chewed mouthful of ramen. Sasuke twitched. "I'm serious. Y'know, about hooking up Sakura-chan and Fuzzy-brows."

"I'm serious, too: No."

Naruto picked up the spoon and ladled a bit of soup to his mouth. "Why not, Sasuke? I mean, it can't be that hard."

Sasuke also took a sip of soup. _A little too salty…_ "That's not…" He sighed. "Naruto, it's not our business to stick our noses…" He paused and started over, "It's not _your_ business to stick _your_ nose into people's love lives."

Naruto pouted, looking extremely deflated. He slurped up some more ramen, and a piece of chicken. The next moment was spent in silence, save for Naruto's occasional loud slurps, and Sasuke's quiet slurps.

"What…what was your idea?" Sasuke asked in a monotonous tone.

Naruto smirked triumphantly. "Heh, I knew you'd wanna be a part of it!"

"Baka…I just don't want your idiotic plan to screw everything up."

"Right…" The blond finished the rest of his lunch and leaned forward, closer to Sasuke.

"Okay, here's the plan…"

* * *

Heh, so there's the first couple: LeeSaku. I think it's gonna turn out great. All I need to do is think of a brilliant plan and lend it to Naruto and Sasuke... 

I suck at plans. Oh well. :3

Oh, right, er, are there any mistakes? Any typos at all? I never double check... hehe. Bad habit. I only double check at school, cuz we have to. Review?


	3. Putting the Plan Into Action

Evening, the Same Day

"Okay, so you remember all that we're gonna do?"

"Tch, of course. I'm not forgetful like you, dobe."

"I'm not forgetful!!"

"Hn."

"Don't worry, it'll be great. I mean, we're twelve now, almost thirteen, and I think Sakura should have a boyfriend by now, with her being so pretty and all. And she won't go out with me, and you won't go out with her... It benefits you!" Naruto grinned brightly. "And it benefits her! I mean, it's about time she got over her crush on a cold blooded bastard like you."

"Shut up, usuratonkachi."

Naruto blew a raspberry. "Teme."

A small rumbling noise was heard then.

"Eh, hehe...so...would you mind if I stayed for supper, Sasuke?"

Twitch. "I'm not a charity kitchen, Naruto."

"Pleeeaaase?!!!" Blue eyes suddenly became very large and watery looking and just plain adorable.

Twitch twitch. "..." Sigh. "Fine." _You are such a pushover_, Inner Sasuke nagged. _Those damn eyes...makes me think of the time I used them on Itachi..._

...Same Time, At the Other Side of the Villiage...

_Pant pant_...

"I'm home..." a pink haired girl called weakly, gripping the doorframe as she kicked off her shoes. She trudged to the couch and let herself flop face first onto the cushions in sheer exhaustion. Her mother entered the room, wiping her hands on a small towel.

"Hello, Sakura," she greeted, and then gasped. "My, what on earth happened to you?!"

Sakura did not bother to lift her head up when she replied, "Um...training..." _What a lie...but I probably put forth more effort today than any other training day..._

Sakura's mother shook her head. "You shouldn't push yourself so much. You could always quit training as a ninja and become something---"

"No," Sakura said firmly. She'd mustered up enough strength to put together a determined look (much like Naruto had done many times). "I won't ever quit."

Her mother was silent, and then quietly walked back to the kitchen. The kunoichi took a deep breath, exhaled, and half attempted to suffocate herself in the cushions.

_I don't want tomorrow..._she moaned in her head dreadfully. (a/n: feel her pain...I do, often)

...the Next Morning...

Sakura yawned, and took a bite of toast she took with her. She was on her way to the meeting place on the bridge. _Wonder what we'll do today...probably some more sparring practices. Kakashi-sensei can be so lazy about us sometimes. We're kind of behind._

Suddenly some leaves rustled behind the girl, and she whipped around in alarm. _What was that?! It's not natural...there was no breeze!_ She looked around cautiously, and then let out the breath she realized she had been holding. _I'm just being paranoid..._

She continued walking up the street and was almost near the corner, when Sasuke appeared there. Sakura smiled bright.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun!" she called, running up to meet him. The boy just shoved his hands in his pockets, waiting for her.

"Want to walk with me?" he asked, when she reached him.

Inner Sakura shouted triumphantly, pumping a fist into the air. Sakura just beamed. "Of course!"

The walk was silent, but Sakura's fangirlish feelings were content. That was, until Sasuke abruptly stopped.

"Eh? Uh, Sasuke-kun?"

Suddenly his hand shot out and grabbed Sakura's neck, and pinned her to the wooden fence behind her. She gasped for breath.

"S-sasuke-kun?!" she wheezed, as the grip around her neck tightened. _Can't...breathe!!!_ Her green eyes went wide when Sasuke in front of her suddenly morphed into a foreign person she did not know, dressed in a wide straw hat, shadowing the face, and long, shaggy grey robes. A belt diagonally crossed his torso, hosting a holster for a katana. The foreigner reached back and grabbed the hilt, and slowly drew out the gleaming blade...

"KONOHA'S BEAUTIFUL GREEN BEAST IS HERE!!!" someone suddenly shouted. A blur of green seemed to materialize, and sent a powerful roundhouse kick aimed for the foreigner's head. He dodged it, as well as the oncoming chain of punches and kicks from Lee before leaping into the air and escaping. (a/n: This is probably the most kick-punch type of action I can write and have ever written. Lol.)

The green beast knelt down. "Are you okay, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura rubbed at her neck, which had a visible hand grip on it. "I-I'm fine. Thank you." She looked up to thank her savior, and gasped, in horror. "_LEE_?!!"

_Ping!_ went his sparkling teeth as he grinned. "The one and only!"

"...AAAAAAHHHH!!!" she shrieked and ran back home.

...Team 7 Meeting Place...

_Pant...pant..._

"So how'd it go?!!" Naruto eagerly asked.

"Fine...considering I nearly got my head knocked off by him ..." Sasuke hissed through clenched teeth. He was clutching his stomach, which the blond suddenly noticed.

"Oi, teme, did you get hit? Aw, that's okay, Sasu-chan, we'll get your boo-boo bandaged up later, ne?"

Sasuke 's eye twitched, still trying to regain his steady breathing pattern, but otherwise remained silent.

Naruto smirked. "Heh, not even the great Uchiha can escape unscathed from--"

"Shut up, dobe!"

_Poof!_

"Now, now, you two, we don't need a blood feud right here, right now," a voice drawled, obviously Kakashi-sensei. "Sasuke, what happened to you?"

The injured boy scowled. Naruto turned to his teacher and pointed an accusing finger. "You're late, Kakashi-sensei!"

"I stopped by Sakura's house to see if anything was wrong."

"You li--wait, _what_?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Kakashi sighed. "If you would have let me continue..." he suggested. "Anyway, your third teammate is staying home, again."

"What?! She went home?!!"

Kakashi nodded. "Apparently she had been attacked by some rogue ninja who disguised themselves...as Sasuke," he explained, his one eyed gaze settling on the dark haired boy, who looked away. "She said she's not feeling very well now. We'll give her a day and..." his eye curved upwards, "hopefully she'll be able to attend tomorrow.

"So..." he said, preparing to wrap up, "I guess I'll have to call it another day off, ne? Have fun you two." With that, Kakashi performed a few hand signs and poofed himself away.

Naruto leered at the wisps of smoke still looming in the air. "Probably just wants to read more of his pervy book he always carries around," he spat. "Oh well. Let's revise our plan, Sasuke."

"Hn. Your _faulty _plan."

A vein throbbed. "_I'm working on it, teme_!!" he growled in reply.

...Sakura's House...

She lay on her bed, miserable. _I knew I'd hate today..._ She groaned, face pressed into the embroidered, soft, red comforter on her bed.

_But...that foreigner...I didn't sense anything strange about him. He seemed _just like_ the real Sasuke! Well, except for when "Sasuke" asked to walk with me...I shouldn't have fallen for that _again_! I'm such a failure at a ninja..._

She'd confessed all that to Kakashi-sensei when he stopped by her house.

_"No, Sakura. You're not a failure." Kakashi's mask stretched, as if he was smiling. "You're the keenest in the team. It was probably a shinobi who excelled at those sorts of tricks. You're a smart one. Just keep up the training. You'll get better. Now, I'm off to inform Sasuke and Naruto of the cancellation, if they haven't skipped out already again." _

Sakura picked up her head and lay with the right side of her face on the bed. She gazed out the window through the short pink hair that fell in front of her eyes.

_Kakashi-sensei's probably just saying that...to cheer me up or something. _

_What should I do though? ...hm...I should have thanked Lee for saving me...it was really rude of me to run off screaming like that. I'm so stupid...and insensitive. _

Sakura sighed, feeling very guilty, and lay still for a while, before slowly sitting up.

"Maybe...I ought to apologize to him," she wondered aloud. "Yes, an apology. Lee should be able to accept that easily. And then a proper thanks. And...I'll bring a flower...I guess..." Her eye twitched at the thought of having to visit Ino's family's shop to do so. She sighed. "I have to do it."

Sakura stood up from her bed, but with a strong look of determination. "I will do it! It's my mission today!" She blinked, and cringed. "But those _enormous_ eyebrows..."

* * *

I think I kinda made Kakashi OOC a bit, during Sakura's flashback of when Kakashi tried to be encouraging/comforting to her. Oh well. Hey, I tried. "A" for effort, as I like to say when I miss the tennis ball (99.9 percent of the time)... 

I don't believe in Sakura bashing. Sakura is AWESOME. ...when she's fifteen. She's pretty cool though, once Sasuke-teme leaves. She's like all... bleh, when Sasuke's around. But really, she's the best. ...well, her or Naruto. I dunno, they're both really cool.

:D I'm doing pretty good with this story! I'm so happy!!! This one's gonna be a good one, methinks. :3


	4. Flowers

It was late morning in the village of Konoha. Many middle aged and elder people were out and about, some with very young children tagging along. Older children were most likely at the Ninja Academy.

Sakura's sandaled feet shuffled the dirt paths. Her mind was only focused on her "mission" she had ordered upon herself: to apologize to Lee for the incident that occured earlier that morning! Oh, and to buy him a nice flower, because Sakura was the kind of sweet girl to do that. (a/n: cough...er, no comment. sorry for interrupting...) _I can do this I can do this I can do this_ was the mantra being chanted in her mind. Inner Sakura cheered on. After a short walk, she finally reached her first intended destination: the Yamanaka's Flower Shop!

A bell above the door jingled when she opened the door.

"Good morning," a bright voice rang out soon after. "Welcome to--oh. It's you."

Sakura glared at the girl behind the counter, who had resumed taking a slouched, "I'm Bored" posture by leaning on the counter. "Good morning, Ino."

"Buying more flowers, Forehead Girl?" Ino sneered. "Who for?"

"None of your business," Sakura replied while looking at a fresh new arrangement of flowers. She paced around the whole store, looking and adoring almost every flower there, but couldn't quite decide which one she should buy for Lee. Ino was watching her carefully the whole time, to see if she could figure out what exactly Sakura wanted a flower for.

"Whatever reason you're getting a flower for," Ino called, "if you're getting one for someone, you'd better hope it doesn't send out the wrong message. Flowers are their own language, you know."

"Well...what...what would you get for someone...if you wanted to tell them something?" Sakura asked awkwardly, and walked up to Ino's counter. _I can't believe I'm asking Ino-pig for help, but she does know more about flowers than I do..._

"Tell them something?" Ino repeated, confused. "Oh, you mean something like 'Congratulations' or 'Get Well' or something like that?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, stuff like that."

"Well, if you wanted to say 'congratulations' with flowers, you'd get them bold and colorful flowers. If you wanted to send it to someone sick, it should be a more calm, cool colored arrangement. Like light greens or blues. And if you wanted to say 'sorry' then you'd want to pick something sorta warm, like light purple or pink colored," Ino said expertly.

Sakura nodded again, knowing what to choose now. "Okay...uh, thanks...Ino."

The blonde shrugged. "No problem." Then she grinned slyly. "So who's it for, huh?"

Sakura laughed at Ino's persistance. "I told you, none of your business!"

"Is too my business. I'm the one selling you the flowers!"

...a Few Minutes Later...

Sakura walked out of the flower shop with her purchase, feeling refreshed and confident. _I know I can do this, _she thought bravely, and started for Lee's house. On her way, though, she saw her teammates at a distance.

"Sasuke-kun! Naruto!" she called. They turned around. Sakura stood on her tiptoes, waving to them. Naruto waved back and dragged Sasuke by the wrist.

"Hey, Sakura-chan! What are you doing up and about? Are you feeling better? Who are those flowers for?"

Sakura blinked at the bombardment of questions. Sasuke smacked Naruto upside the head.

"Oww, teme, what was that for?"

"Hn."

Sakura giggled. "Good morning, you two. Yes, I'm, er, better. These are for Lee," she said, pulling the flowers closer to her. The plastic around them made a crinkly sound. The two boys eyed the flowers for a long time, causing Sakura to feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Um, well...see you two later!" she said, and hurried off. When she was out of sight, Naruto turned to Sasuke.

"This is great!" he exclaimed, very excitedly. "It's going even better than we had planned! Come on, let's get ready, Sasuke."

* * *

This one's really short because the original fourth chapter was over 2000 words, so I just split it in what I hoped was half, but it was about 400 words short... this is about 600. 


	5. Second Attempt

5. Second Attempt

All went fine, Sakura was almost at Lee's house to deliver the flowers. _I hope he forgives me..._

_Rustle rustle..._

Sakura whipped around, alarmed. _Again?! There wasn't any wind this time either!_ She braced herself by letting her right hand linger near her kunai pouch, ready to grab one if needed. _Where's he going to come from? Left? Right? Behind?_ Sakura glanced up, just in time to block the katana coming down with her kunai in hand. She gritted her teeth. "You're not getting me this time!" she snarled. The sword was withdrawn, and came slicing in from Sakura's right side, but was met with the kunai once again.

_He doesn't seem to be very skilled with this katana,_ Sakura noted. _It must not be his weapon then..._Her lips curled into a smirk. _To my advantage then!_

With her kunai still against the long thin blade, she approached the figure and quickly took her own blade away to stab the attacker's torso.

_Yes! _Sakura cheered inwardly, as the blade sunk deep into the flesh.

_Poof!_ A thud was heard, but not the kind of sound if a body were to fall. In place, was a log. Green eyes widened. _A substitution jutsu!_ she realized, but it was too late. Her flowers fell to the ground, while a strong arm held her arms back while her own kunai was held to her throat._ He stole my kunai?!_

Suddenly a shout from a familiar, obnoxious sounding voice was heard. "Oh, no! Sakura! Help, dattebayo (Naruto's catchphrase thing in Japanese)!! HELP!!!" Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs. The people in the houses nearby opened their windows and stuck their heads out.

Sakura sweatdropped. "Why don't _you_ help me, Naruto? You're a ninja; aren't you gonna be the greatest hokage? THEN SAVE ME!"

"Er, uh, but--"

"No worries, Sakura-chan. I will save you!" a third voice cried.

In a flash of green, Rock Lee appeared and freed Sakura. "Are you okay?" he whispered to her, concerned. Sakura nodded. "Good." Lee stood up and turned to Sakura's attacker, getting into his fighting stance. "If you want to hurt Sakura, you'll have to go through me first! I am Rock Lee!"

The wind whistled by, rustling the leaves, but everyone else was silent and not moving.

"Alright, if you do not make the first move, than I will!" Lee said, and charged forward, aiming for a kick to the head again. He missed, but the straw hat was knocked off, revealing not much. His opponent wore a hood that covered the head and a mask over the nose and mouth. Only the dark eyes showed. Lee went for the same target again, and his foot collided with the enemy's cheek, sending him flying off to the side, close to Naruto who stared wide-eyed. The cloaked figure twitched, and slowly got back up, staggering. Lee charged for him again, but he was able to dodge it that time, and fled for the rooftops.

"He escaped again!" Sakura exclaimed.

Lee started to go after, but Naruto held him up. "I'll chase after him!" he shouted, and jumped onto the rooftops in pursuit.

Realizing the show was over, the onlookers went back into there houses and shut the windows. Sakura picked up her flowers that were abandoned on the ground. She sighed. "They're damaged..."

"What is?" Lee asked, approaching Sakura.

"The flowers," she said. "I, um, got them for you...I'm really sorry about yesterday, when you, um, saved me. It was really rude of me to run off screaming like that." Sakura looked down, embarrassed. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Sakura-chan. I forgive you." Lee kissed her lightly on the cheek, causing Sakura to blush instantly. "Let's go inside," Lee offered. "Some of the flowers look okay, and I know a trick to revive the others." He took Sakura by the hand and led her inside.

A rustle and a snicker was heard from a tree nearby. Soon after, an orange clad ninja jumped down. "Success!" he whispered to himself, pumping a fist, and then ran off.

...On a Nearby Rooftop...

A silver haired jounin chuckled. "So that's what they were up to..."

...Naruto's Apartment...

"Ow, Naruto, stop poking!" Sasuke snarled. He sat at Naruto's small table while the blond sat next to him and was currently prodding the nasty looking purple and blue spot on the right side of his face. Sasuke swatted the annoying hand away.

"Hehe, Fuzzy-brows beat you good!"

"Shut up, usuratonkachi."

Naruto handed his injured comrade a bag of ice wrapped in a thin towel. "Here, teme."

Sasuke scowled and snatched it from Naruto's hand and put it on his bruise, wincing as he did so. Naruto blew him a raspberry.

"You're welcome. Anyway...I CAN'T BELIEVE IT WORKED, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT WORKED!!! My brilliant plan worked!" Naruto shouted, throwing his fists in the air. He started going around in circles, still with his hands in his air, chanting "I can't believe it worked!"

"Your 'brilliant plan' probably wouldn't have gotten anywhere without me," Sasuke said in an annoyed voice. "You probably would be dead if you went up against Lee. If you got that far. You'd probably yell right before you 'attack' Sakura, and that'd give you away since no one else is dumb enough to do that except you. Therefore, with her knowing that it's just you, Lee wouldn't have to save her."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "What exactly are you trying to say...?"

Sasuke smirked, but before he could answer there was a knock from the door. Naruto got up to answer it.

"Kakashi-sensei?!" he yelped.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi replied, "I could ask you the same thing, Sasuke. Hm, is that a bruise on your cheek?"

Sasuke quickly turned his head away, still holding the ice to his face.

"Uh, um, Sasuke-teme ran into a pole..." Naruto said. Kakashi's forehead protector shifted, indicating that he had raised an eyebrow. Sasuke shot Naruto a glare, but reluctantly went with the lie, since it had already been told. "It was that one around the corner, closest to the apartment," he said. Naruto's head bobbed up and down in "agreement."

"...well, hope you get better, Sasuke. Anyway, I've been asking around," their sensei said, a lie as well, "for any information about the ninja that attacked Sakura twice. Do you two happen to know anything about him?"

Sasuke and Naruto exchanged glances and shook their head in unison.

"No? Alright then," Kakashi said, and turned around. "I suppose I'll be leaving now..."

"That's great!" Naruto said loudly, and steered the jounin out. "See ya later, Kakashi-sensei!" With that, he slammed the door, and put his ear right up to it. After about a second later, he very quietly opened it a little and peered out.

"Okay, he's gone," Naruto said, turning to Sasuke.

"YOU ARE SUCH A LOSER!!!" Sasuke exploded. "What kind of lame lie was that?! I ran into a _pole_?!!!"

Naruto yelled back in protest, "Well, I couldn't think of anything else!"

"I'd rather get beaten by _you_ than run into a pole, dammit!" Both would have damaged the Uchiha's pride, but he decided less pride would have been lost if he obtained a bruise from some_one_ than some_thing_.

"You want another bruise to match, teme?!!" Naruto snarled, pushing back his sleeve.

"As if you could," Sasuke snorted.

Naruto jumped onto his table, squatting down to be a little higher than eye level to Sasuke. They were quite close together, with their noses almost touching. "You are so gonna get it!!"

"I'd like to see that happen," the other boy sneered.

Naruto growled. "Just watch me now!"

"YOU TWO!!!" a new voice screeched and tugged hard at Naruto's ear.

"Ow ow ow ow ow ow," Naruto cried. He fell off of the table and landed on the floor with a thud and a last cry of pain. "Sakura-chan?!"

Sakura glared at the both of them. "I am getting sick of you two fighting like this all the time! Do you guys always have to be near the brink of death just to work together?!! Be more mature, Naruto," she scolded. "And you, Sasuke-kun, you should know better than to keep egging him on like that! Really!"

Naruto kneeled on the floor and set his chin on the tabletop. "Why don't you pull his ear then?" he whined.

Sasuke looked at the blond. "Because I don't act like a dumbass like you."

A vein throbbed in Sakura's forehead. "Sasuke-kun..." she hissed in such a way that the prideful boy was honestly a little scared.

"So what are you doing here, Sakura-chan?"

She smiled. "I just wanted to tell you guys...I'm going on a date with Lee the day after tomorrow!"

The bag of ice fell to the floor, and so nearly did Naruto's jaw. Sakura blushed.

"Really?!! Wow!! That's great for you, Sakura-chan!!" Naruto exclaimed happily. "Does that mean you're over the bastard over there now?"

"Erm, well, I, uh, decided just to give Lee a chance," she said in an awkward sort of tone.

"YEAH!!!" Naruto cheered.

Sakura was confused. "But why are you so happy about it?"

"Eh...because maybe it'll be my turn in the future?" he said hopefully.

Sakura brutally added a bump to the blond's head. "Fat chance!" she yelled.

* * *

Yeah... heh. Here's the fifth chapter! There's probably going to be one more for LeeSaku, and then the seventh chapter should be a new pairing, hopefully.

I was working on stuff on deviantart. :3

http ://www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 60220369/ (don't look at this one if you're a homophobe. )

http ://www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 60174470/ (sakura, sai, and naruto!)


	6. Date Prep part 1

I'm sorry!! I'm late, aren't I? T.T I'm so sorry!!! I've kinda been having a little trouble with this one...but...it's here! Yeah! Hope you people enjoy it!

6. Date Prep

"Hehe, right," Naruto started, "so, um, where's the date gonna be?"

Sakura stared at Naruto suspiciously. "Why would you want to know?"

Naruto shrugged. "I...just...do?"

"Oh. Well, I suppose...I _hope_ it wouldn't hurt to tell you... We're just going to the festival."

"Hm...festival..." the blond pondered aloud. He seemed to be in deep thought. "Wait, there's a festival?!" A random pair of chopsticks came flying at him, and they ricocheted with a clink off of the forehead protector to the floor.

"Are you really so ignorant?!!" Sakura yelled.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Erm, well, I've been busy the past few days...? With Sasuke." (a/n: Hehe. oh. sorry for the interruption. :D)

The kunoichi put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, well I bet Sasuke-kun didn't forget! Did you, Sasuke?"

"No," was the reply.

"Psh. Liar," Naruto muttered under his breath.

"Don't say things like that, Naruto!!" Sakura scolded, and pulled his ear again.

"OWWWW!!!" Naruto screamed.

"Dobe. Don't be a wimp," Sasuke said with a smirk. He was quite amused, but not for long.

"Teme, I bet you've never been pulled by the ear. You wanna know how it feels?!!" With that, the blond grabbed Sasuke's ear, along with some hair, very hard. Sasuke's eyes widened and the smirk was replaced with a grimace.

"Dobe, let go!"

"Heh. Never."

"Naruto! Let go of Sasuke-kun's ear!"

"I will when you let go of me!"

"No! You deserve it!"

"Well, then so does Sasuke!"

"DOBE LET GO!!!!"

Sadly, the teammates of Team 7 spent the rest of the morning performing these immature actions, until someone's stomach growled quite loudly, causing the other two and the neighbors to think there was an earthquake. Even though there were seldom earthquakes in Konoha.

"Hehe," Naruto chuckled, and finally let go of Sasuke's ear to pat his stomach. "Lunchtime!"

Sakura let go of Naruto's ear and sighed. "I've got to go home then. See ya guys later." She went out the door.

"Wonder what I'll have for lunch.." the blonde pondered while rubbing his left ear that was very much in pain. "Eh, I think I'll go down to the old man's for some ramen! Yeah!" He started for the door, and then turned around, remembering there was still someone else in his house. "Sasuke. Uh...wanna come get ramen with me?"

"..."

"...?"

"Fine," Sasuke decided.

Naruto pouted. "Jeez, it's not like I'm forcing you. You don't have to come with me y'know."

"I'm coming." Sasuke said with a firm tone.

"Okay, okay..."

...Ichiraku Ramen's...

Sasuke knew he shouldn't be startled again by Naruto's speed at eating, but here he was, startled again. Here Naruto was, inhaling his ramen again. While Sasuke was still half way through his first, and last, bowl, Naruto was on his second and three quarters of the way done. Well, make that one hundred percent done.

With a final slurp of the delicious broth that settled at the bottom of the bowl, Naruto held it up. "Thirds please, old man!"

Teuchi, Ichiraku's owner, took the bowl and whispered to Sasuke, "His record here is seven." Sasuke choked on the piece of chicken he had been chewing on. _I really shouldn't be surprised..._

"Hey," Naruto suddenly said, since he was waiting for his refill, "we've gotta spruce up Fuzzy-brows for his date with Sakura-chan."

_Did he just say "spruce up"?!_ Sasuke thought in wonder. Naruto was just full of surprises at every twist and turn.

"How 'bout we go to Fuzzy-brows' after lunch, ne?" he said, and then eagerly picked up his chopsticks again when his ramen arrived.

"Sure..." Sasuke said. He was almost done.

The next moment was passed in silence, except for the slurping from the ramen eaters. Naruto finished that third bowl of his at the same time Sasuke finally finished the first of his. _I'm not surprised, I'm not surprised, I'm not surprised..._ the Uchiha chanted in his head. He tried hard not to be.

"Wow, Sasuke, you're really slow at eating."

"I've told you before, Naruto, I'm only slow compared to you because you practically _inhale_ the whole bowl in two minutes." _The bowl, by the way, is not a tiny one; much larger than the normal bowl. It's the size of a small sink!_

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said, waving it away carelessly. "Let's go to Fuzzy-brows' now!"

...Fuzzy-brows' apartment...

"I think it's this one..." Naruto said, stopping in front of a door.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You said that about ten doors ago, too."

"Well, it's not my fault they look the same!" he protested, referring to the doors. Most of them did look the same, although some of them actually had some random ornaments or mirrors hanging on them. Naruto held up a fist, and knocked on the door. A short moment later, it swung open, and there stood Lee, clad only in a pair of loose pants and a towel draped over his shoulders, instead his usual green outfit and clashing orange legwarmers. His shiny bowl cut hair was dripping; obviously he had just taken a shower.

"Naruto-kun? Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto grinned and uncurled his fist so his fingers splayed out. "Hey, Fuzzybrows!"

"Good afternoon!" Lee stepped back and opened his door wider to let the guests in. "Um, may I ask why you two have come to visit me?"

"You're going on a date with Sakura-chan in a couple days, right?" the shorter of the three asked with a sly grin.

Bright red quickly tinged Lee's cheeks. "H-hai! (Y-yes!)" he said, startled.

"We're gonna help ya get ready!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly.

Lee blinked. "Really? But...uh...we have two days..."

"Ah, it never hurts to prepare extra early, right, Sasuke?"

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow. "Really? I've never seen you apply that to anything else before."

Naruto scowled. "Right, it never hurts," he answered himself, since Sasuke did not.

"Uh, thanks, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun. I appreciate your generosity."

Naruto flapped his hand. "Ah, it's nothing." Then he grabbed a chair nearby and gently pushed Lee down onto it. "Let's get started!"

...Two Minutes Later...

"Hm...no...mhmh...aha..." Naruto said, with a hand under his chin, trying to sound like he knew what he was doing. He clearly didn't.

"Naruto, are you going to stop staring at Lee or at least do something?" Sasuke snapped.

The blond scratched the back of his head. "Eh, hehe, um..." He suddenly clapped his hands together, startling both Sasuke and Lee. "I know! Let's get Tenten!"

"What for?" asked Sasuke. Lee nodded along.

"To help of course!"

"..."

"Go, Sasuke!"  
"What?! Why me?"

"You're not doing anything to help."

Scoff. "Oh, right, and as if you are."

Glare. "Shut up and go before I push you out the window!"

Sweatdrop. "N-naruto-kun..."

...Five Minutes Later...

The door swung open, and first entered Tenten. "We're he--AH!!" She quickly turned around. Behind her were Neji and Sasuke, who entered the apartment, despite Tenten.

"What's wrong?"

"Lee! Put on a shirt!!!" she cried.

Neji, Sasuke, and Naruto looked at Lee, who also looked down at himself. He was indeed not wearing a shirt. The others hadn't noticed, or bothered, since they were all male. (a/n: and straight. so far. cough. hehe.)

"My apologies, Ten-ten-san!" Lee said, and quickly put on a green t-shirt. "You can turn around now."

Tenten did, and sighed in relief. "Thank you..." She tilted her head. "Lee, I've never seen you wear anything besides that outrageous jumpsuit before. You look nice wearing something other than that."

Lee blushed in response. _I wonder if Sakura-san would think so...?_

"Okay, then," Tenten announced, putting her hand on her hip. "Let's get started on your makeover!!"

"_MAKEOVER?!!"_

"Oh no! Quick, Naruto, push him down! Neji-kun, Sasuke-kun, tie him to the chair!"

...Seven Minutes in Heck and a Couple of Bruises Later...

Rock Lee was gagged with a (clean) rag and bound with strong wire on his own chair, in his own apartment, by his own friends.

"Sorry, Fuzzybrows, but we had to!"

"Mh-hmmphn-hn!!"

"What'd he say?"

"I don't know."  
"Well, I better get started then," Tenten said with a sigh. She reached into her kunai pouch, and pulled out...a pair of tweezers.

"???" went the boys.

"We're going to work on those things you call eyebrows first, Lee."

"MNHNNMPH!!!"

* * *

Let's see...um, InvaderCorren!!! Thanks for the suggestion! The idea of them tying Lee to a chair was funny. In fact, I might try and draw it. XD ooh, that'd be fun. Hehe. 

Do not fear, young ones, for Lee will NOT have the (quote InvaderCorren) "Undying-Love-Really-I-Masterbate-On-Your-Fanart-Every-Night Outbursts." (unquote) Because that is just creepy.

Eh, sorry for that... (sweatdrop) You people, whoever you may be, are probably older than me. :3 I only gave out my age in my dA accounts.

Anyway...I lied. Okay, no, I didn't really. But I did say that I thought maybe this would like, be the last SakuLee chapter, but it isn't. I'm sorry!! I didn't know that I'd make my story so rambling-like. Hehe. I like to try to keep them under 2,000 words, so it isn't too long, yeah. Really long chapters are kind of overwhelming... So...maybe the SEVENTH chapter will be the last SL one, and then finally perhaps a new pairing. Or...maybe... (wilt) I don't know... (cries)


	7. Date Prep part 2

7. It's A Date!

...About Half An Hour Later...

They finally got Lee's eyebrows to look acceptable and not freaky. At the cost of more bruises (amount 2), wire burn (amount 3), wire cut (amount 1), and pokes to the eye with the tweezer (amount 2). It could have been less "costly" of course, if Lee hadn't gotten free that one time.

"You should have tied it tighter!"

"We DID."

"Right..."

"Shut up, you two!" Tenten screeched. Then she calmed down instantly and smiled pleasantly to Lee. "Okay, your makeover is done!" She took the rag out of his mouth.

"That's it? You're done?" Lee asked.

"Yep!" Tenten nodded.

Lee gave a whoop, scaring Sasuke and Naruto. Tenten and Neji were unfazed, of course, since they were Lee's teammates, they were used to his behavior. Expect the unexpected, they learned.

The one in green then huddled down and whispered to Naruto and Sasuke, "You have no idea how scared I was. When we were young, Tenten once gave me a so-called-" air quote "-'makeover.' It was a nightmare!" Lee shuddered. "Although Neji-san (a/n: Does Lee address Neji with -san or -kun? Lee does respect Neji, I remember, but I don't remember what he addresses him, and I'm too lazy to go rewatch a few eps...) actually looked nice with--"

"Don't think I can't hear you," Neji and Tenten said at the same time. They looked at each other, startled.

"Youowemeyourunclesbestsake!" Tenten said quickly.

Neji slammed his fist in his palm, cursing under his breath.

The other three stared at them.

"What?" the two said in chorus.

"NO!" Neji yelled, before Tenten could say anything else.

"I do not think you understood Gai-sensei when he said to be youthful," Lee interrupted, meaning that they were acting too childish.

"Oh, and this is coming from he who cannot sleep without a squirrel plushie?"

"It's a chipmunk!" Lee retorted. "A CHIPMUNK!!!"

"Okay, you guys are _all_ being childish!" Naruto shouted.

"You sleep with that weird night cap on," Sasuke said.

"How do you know?" Naruto demanded.  
"…I just do."

"OHMYGOSH are you stalking me?!!"

"Who would want to stalk _you_, dobe?"

"Teme, what's that supposed to mean?!!"

"SHUT UP!!!"

SLAM!

"…" The birds outside chirped cheerfully in the sunny afternoon weather.

Tenten blinked. "Wow…that works pretty good," she said to herself. "I only slammed my fist for emphasis, but…ha, now I know why Dad does it all the time!"

"…"

"Er…hehe…" There was a visible sweat drop on Tenten's face. "So, Lee, yep, that's your makeover! I'm sure you're happy. Now, I forgot to talk about the fees…"

Lee paled. "F-fees?"

"There's fees?" asked Naruto.

"There's fees?" asked Sasuke.

"There's fees?" asked Neji. "Oh, you're giving me 20 percent since you dragged me along with you."

The kunoichi rolled her eyes. "No, you guys, I was just kidding. There're no fees. I'd do anything to help a friend!"

Tears welled up in a pair of big, round eyes. "Oh Tenten, thank you!!! I, Rock Lee, will do anything in return for this wonderful favor you have done for me!"

Tenten blinked. "Um…I only plucked your eyebrows…"

"Hey, what about me, Fuzzy-brows," Naruto said excitedly, "What about the favor I—"

His mouth was quickly covered by Sasuke's hand. "Hehe," Sasuke chuckled nervously, "the idiot doesn't know what he's saying."

Lee, Tenten, and Neji nodded and turned away to chat amongst themselves. Well, Lee and Tenten.

Sasuke took that chance to uncover Naruto's mouth to smack the blond upside the head.

"Dobe! Do you know what you were saying?!!"

Naruto scowled. "Uh, no, apparently not, since I am the idiot who 'doesn't know what he's saying.'"

"You nearly gave us away! Remember that no one else is supposed to know what we're doing?"

"…oh, yeah…" the blond nodded slowly. Sasuke smacked his own forehead, though he really wanted to smack Naruto's.

"Okay, Tenten, well, thanks for the service! We can take it from here now," Naruto said. He grabbed Tenten's and Neji's arm and escorted them to the door. "Bye!"

"Wai—"

SLAM! He closed the door before Tenten could even finish her first word.

"Okay, then, Fuzzybrows. Do you know what you're gonna wear to the festival tomorrow?"

"Um, yes, it's in the closet…"

Naruto opened the closet door and peered inside, studying it. "Hm…nice," he decided. He turned around. "Okay then! I guess you're set! Have fun on your date with Sakura-chan tomorrow! See ya!"

* * *

Now, you people may be wondering... WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING?!!!She as in me.

What am I doing? I don't know. But heck, I'm just gonna post it! I'm sorry, but this LeeSaku segment is gonna take as long as it needs to! Yeah!! Hopefully not too long...

_It's already been seven chapters..._

I KNOW!!! sigh. This is kind of why I like oneshots better. (sweatdrop) The date is gonna be in the next chapter!!! I apologize ahead of time if it sucks. Because dates just aren't my thing. And SEA. If you're laughing now, shut up. (growls)

If anyone was curious, **the injuries list:** the bruises were added to Neji and Sasuke, since Lee escaped, they were the ones to get him back. Wire burn, to Neji, Sasuke, and Naruto; Naruto was reinforcement. One wire cut on Naruto, because Lee jerked suddenly but Neji and Sasuke were quick to let go and avoid getting cut. And Lee got poked in the eye twice with the tweezers while doing that. Hehe. I thought it out, yes.

It's kind of…strange. On wikipedia, they have an "injuries list" for Akito Sohma from Fruits Basket of all the people he's hurt.

I know. I'm just trying not to spoil the other people who might not know yet. I only knew because I read all those articles. Heh. I spoiled myself. Well, I'm never gonna get ahold of the rest of the manga anyway… Our library sucks at manga.


	8. It's A Date!

8. It's a Date!

It was early in the evening on the day of the festival. The sky was still bright at five. The streets of Konoha were full of happy, excited villagers dressed in their best. Most of them were in colorful kimonos, and were enjoying themselves. Games were played, money was spent, food was eaten. It was a fun time.

Haruno Sakura stood by next to her favorite food stall that was supposed to be their meeting spot. "Their" as in her and Lee's designated meeting spot. For their date.

_Ooh, I wish that feeling would stop! _she complained to herself. The feeling she had was a sort of excited, fluttery, tugging feeling in her chest. _Of course, it's only because it's my first date. Not because of Lee. Sasuke-kun is my true love! But I wish it'd stop... I'm glad I don't get this sort of feeling around Sasuke. It's torture! _

She tried to tame the jumpy feeling in her, but it didn't work. _Ah, Lee, just hurry up and get here! As soon as this date's over, this annoying feeling will stop. Heh, it's as persistent and nagging as Naruto._

Sakura stood on her tiptoes to try and see over the heads of other people. _Lee is tall, he shouldn't be so hard to spot! Maybe he isn't here yet?_

Suddenly she spotted a shiny bowl cut bit of hair. "Lee?" she shouted. The hair stopped moving and headed towards her. "About time you got here--eh?!"

"Good evening, Haruno-san!"

"Gai-sensei?"

"The one and only!" _Ping!_ went his teeth as he grinned at her.

Sakura covered her eyes to shield herself from the glare coming off of his teeth. _So...bright...and...such bushy eyebrows!!! _She cringed.

"So, my young Lee has not arrived yet?"

Sakura shook her head.

Gai frowned. "I thought I had taught Lee it is disrespectful to keep anyone waiting, and here he keeps his lovely date waiting alone! When I see him tomorrow he shall do a thousand laps around Konoha!"

Sakura sweatdropped. _That's pretty harsh..._

"No, perhaps two thousand. I musn't let Lee slack!"

_I was wrong; THAT is harsh!_

"Ah, well, I'll think more on Lee's punishment later. Have a nice evening, Haruno-san! Even if he is late, I know you know Lee is really a fine young man!" _Ping!_

"R-right, Gai-sensei. Thank you."

"No problem," Gai said. Then he gasped. "Kakashi! My eternal rival! I challenge you to a ring toss!!!"

Sakura smiled in sympathy for Kakashi. _Poor Kakashi-sensei. Hehe. _She went back to scanning the crowd in front of her. _But where is Lee?_ Then Sakura heard a voice quite distinctly over all the happy commotion. She'd recognize it anywhere.

"Fuzzy-brows, come on! She's right over there, waiting for you! You're late! Hurry up and go to her! Be sure to tell her she looks pretty!"

_Naruto? _She looked in the direction of where the voice came from. Through all the moving people, she saw glimpses of the blond and her date, and also her crush. _Eh? What's Sasuke-kun doing here?_ _Well, never mind. I'm here for a date with Lee, not to gawk at Sasuke-kun...however much I really want to do that..._

She stood on her tiptoes and waved. "Lee-san!!!" She saw Naruto shove Lee in her direction, and watched Lee weave easily through the mass of people in between them. Finally he reached her.

"G-good evening Sakura-chan!" he said, panting a little. "I'm very sorry that I'm late!"

"It's okay!" Sakura said with false cheerfulness. _You better be sorry! I waited here forever and I had to talk to your freaky sensei! Not to mention, you've got a death sentence, er, two thousand laps around the whole village tomorrow!_ She sighed.

"By the way...what was Naruto and Sasuke-kun doing here with you?" she asked.

"Well, I'm not really sure myself..." Lee said unsurely.

Sakura was slightly suspicious. "Hm..."

"Um...you look beautiful tonight, Sakura-san."

Sakura blinked.

"Er, well, not to say that you don't always look beautiful, it's just that, um, you look even more beautiful now!!" Lee said quickly.

The kunoichi was dressed in a bright red yukata for the warm weather with sakura blossoms printed on it and a pale yellow obi belt with fancy embroiderings. The colors went very well with her, as if they were the colors to call her own. Her short pink hair had been long enough to pull back to pin in an awkward sort of bun, but with the help of her mother they managed to make it looks normal as if she had done it with long hair. Glass beads of assorted colors dangled from the ends of the sticks she put in her hair for decoration.

Her mother told her she looked beautiful, as that was a motherly thing to say, but a boy saying it to her...Sakura wasn't used to it, since most boys only commented on her large forehead.

"Um, thank you, Lee," she said, blushing. "You look nice too."

Lee's hair was still the same shiny round bowl cut, and he wore a nice, simply greyish blue yukata with green bamboo canes printed on them and outlined with golden thread embroidery. Yet there was something that looked very different about him...Sakura couldn't quite put her finger on it... (a/n: lack of fuzzy black caterpilllars, cough cough.)

"Well, where would you like to go first, Lee?"

He blinked. "Um, wherever you'd like to go!" he said.

...Not Too Far Off...

"Yatta! We did it! We did it, Sasuke!" Naruto cheered. "They're on their date! They're on their date! We got Sakura-chan and Fuzzy-brows to go out on a date and they--"

"Yeah, yeah," Sasuke muttered, "just be quiet. People are staring at us." He dragged Naruto by the sleeve to a random stall off to the side, since they were formerly in the middle of the street.

They both were wearing yukatas as well, so as not to stand out. Sasuke's was grey with fancy red and gold dragons on it and a dark red kaku obi belt. Of course, on his back was the Uchiha symbol. Naruto was wearing a less fancy, also black yukata that Iruka had helped him to buy. It had random white and blue swirls all over, and an orange obi belt went with. The orange, Naruto had insisted on to "add a splash of color." Oddly, the orange actually did not clash so much as one would have thought it might have.

"Alright, they are on their date, I heard the first time. What are we going to do now?"

Naruto stopped jumping up and down and stopped to think. "Um…hm…" He shrugged. "I dunno. What do you wanna do?"

Sasuke crossed his arms. "I don't care," he said simply.

"Hm…can we eat?"

Sasuke groaned. "We just got here and the first thing you want to do is _eat_?!"

"It's been a while since lunch!" Naruto protested. "And I swear, yakitori is calling to me! _The chicken is calling me, Sasuke!_" he wailed. "I'll pay for it myself, can we just go and get some?!!"

"Fine, if you're really paying for it."

"YAKITORI HERE I COME!!! Yum." The blond ran off to a random stall, leaving Sasuke behind. "Stay there!"

The Uchiha decided to just go with it. _Where else am I supposed to go anyway?_

A few moments later, an excited blond came back, munching on the grilled bits of chicken on a stick while holding two more full skewers in one hand and a small paper bowl with two onigiri inside in his other hand.

"Mmf!" Naruto said, holding them out to Sasuke, who took the bowl so the blond could hold the yakitori with his now free hand instead of his mouth, giving him freedom to talk properly.

"Here, I got some yakitori and an onigiri for you," Naruto said. "I payed for it all by myself, okay?"

Naruto had finished his first stick of yakitori and started on his second, while giving the third one to Sasuke. Sasuke took it, and a riceball, and gave the bowl with the other to Naruto.

"Mm, I love food."

The blond's companion just rolled his eyes, and took another bite of the onigiri.

"This is partly why I love festivals. The food's even better _and _cheaper," explained Naruto. "Also people are in a better mood, so if you accidentally knock their stuff over or something they just laugh and pick it up again. Normally they'd hit you upside the head and scold you or something." He laughed. "Also…it's just nice to see everyone in a good mood, y'know?"

"Hm…"

Naruto turned to Sasuke. "Including you."

"…?"

"Yeah. I mean, you don't seem like such a mean bastard right now as you usually do."

Sasuke finished his onigiri and lightly shoved the blond. "Whatever," he said with a chuckle. _This feeling…it…it's weird. But it feels nice. A calm, serene feeling around him. There's no tension or rivalry between us now. If only it could always be like this. And if he wasn't always such an idiot…_

"Hey, Sasuke. Let's go do that!" Naruto pointed at a game booth. "If I beat you, you buy me a plate of gyoza and I get to eat it in front of you!"

_I take that back…_

"You couldn't win," Sasuke smirked. "I'll be the one eating in front of you."

"No way! I'm gonna get a plate of gyoza, believe it!"

* * *

yakitori: grilled bits of chicken on skewers  
onigiri: rice balls wrapped in nori, and sometimes has stuff in them.  
gyoza: dumplings, usually fried. 

Yum…gyoza. Hehe. I like gyoza!!! We buy the wrappers at an oriental store and I end up making like 50 or so, lol. Mom likes to eat and make the traditional filling, but Dad made up this other kind of filling that he calls the American style filling, only cuz it uses stuff you could easily get anywhere in a grocery store here. And it's faster and easier than traditional. :D I like that one better. Hm… (muses) I have both of the fillings now…I could make some gyoza… but I'm not allowed to turn on the stove…hm.. Aha! There is indeed another way I can heat them up!! Yeah!! I'm having gyoza for lunch, I'm having gyoza for lunch at 1:30 in the afternoon!!! (does victory dance) Yeah!

**Charli**: Stop dancing. It's seriously freaky.

**CG**: GYOZA GYOZA GYOZA GYOZA!!!!

If you would like to see their yukatas, here they are! htt p/ww w.devi antart. c om/ deviati on/61 17251 7/ (just fix the places where i randomly chopped it up with spaces)


	9. House Cleaning

I feel kinda brain dead..so...uh...sorry for any parts that...like...dont' make much sense ...or are just plain crappy..or for any typos... x.x

9. House Cleaning

It was another hot summer day in Konoha, yet it seemed even more hot out in the open at the training fields, where the sun beat down mercilessly.

"It's only 10 in the morning and so hot already!" Sakura complained.

Naruto agreed. "Yeah, I can't even where my jacket anymore..." he whined.

"You're wearing a black t-shirt, Naruto, no wonder you're hot!" Sakura said irritatedly, having to point out the obvious.

"I always wear a black t-shirt!" Naruto argued. "I just usually have my jacket over it! Besides, look at Sasuke! He always wears dark blue, and he wore black at the Chuunin exams! He's crazy!"

"Well what else do you expect him to wear? Sasuke-kun wouldn't wear something as dumb as bright orange!"

"..." went Naruto, as he tried to imagine his rival wearing orange. "Eh..." He earned a bump on his head.

"I didn't tell you to imagine Sasuke-kun wearing orange!!!" the kunoichi screeched.

"Oww!"

"Shut up, you two," said Sasuke, who was leaning against one of the three stumps. "It's hot enough already. You two bickering just makes it worse." _If I were Nara I'd be sure to say 'troublesome.'_

..A few Minutes of Uncomfortably Hot Silence Later...

_Poof!_

"Good morning everyone!" Kakashi said, holding up a hand in greeting.

"It sucks," his three students said together with an air of irritation/more irritation/and even more irritation lingering around them.

"It's too hot!!!" Naruto started whining again. "Can we have a mission like cleaning up trash in the river again? I wanna fall down the waterfall this time, and Sasuke better not 'save' me."

"If I hadn't saved you that time you wouldn't even be here right now!"

"So what, it would have done a load of good to everyone anyway..." Naruto muttered.

"..."

"..."

"...Naruto, that's a very negative thing to say..." said Kakashi with a nervous chuckle to try and lighten up the tension. "Anyway, listen up. Our mission today is..."

"Not another stupid cart escort...?" Naruto asked dully.

"Nope!" Kakashi said cheerfully. Naruto's eyes lit up, a little.

Sakura spoke up, "What is it then? Is it C rank? Maybe even B rank? We've gotten better!"

"Uh, no, actually it's a D rank..." Sakura and Naruto slouched in disappointment. "We get to clean a house!"

The two faceplanted in the dirt of the training ground.

"Naniii?!! (what?!!) That's even more boring than escorting a stupid cart!" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto, just let Kakashi finish talking, will you?" Sasuke asked not kindly. Naruto glared at his rival in annoyance. _He thinks he's SO cool and can tell me what to do..._

"We'll be accompanied by Asuma's team on this task," Kakashi told them.

"Huh?" went the two loudest of Team 7.

"But it's just housecleaning!" Sakura said. "Why would we need another team with us?"

"Yeah, we could probably finish it up in a few hours! Then we'd have the afternoon off!" Naruto said excitedly as he thought of what he might do during the afternoon if he got it off. _Swimming would be great, since it's so hot!_

Kakashi smiled, and that was shown by his eye curving upwards. "Well, you all seem so prepared to get started, so we might as well."

...A Short Boring Walk Not Really Worth Remembering...

"..."

The three genins' eyes were wide and bugged out, while two mouths hung open like two black holes.

"NO FRIGGEN WAY, THAT HOUSE IS HUGE!!!" the blond yelled.

"We're cleaning that house?!!" Sakura asked, unbelieveing.

"Er, no, actually, we're doing that one," Kakashi said, pointing at the house next door. It was larger than the one they were currently standing in front of. So large, it kind of loomed over them ominously.

"EEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!!!" Kakashi could have sworn he heard his students' chins touch the ground.

"Kakashi!" someone behind them shouted.

Said man turned around. "Asuma! You're just on time!"

"Yeah, well," the other man replied a chuckle, "I'm not like you. I'm actually surprised you got here before us."

"Wow, this is kind of hard to believe, but for once Sakura's forehead isn't the biggest thing on her face!"

Sakura abruptly closed her mouth and turned to snap at Ino, but Kakashi interrupted.

"Well then, now that we're all here, let's go inside this lovely house, shall we?"

...At the Front Door...

"...that's the door? It looks like a giant window!" Ino said in awe when they arrived at the entrance. The door was very large with many glass panes, indeed much like a window. A very fancy window, at that. Kakashi, who led the way, opened the door just by turning the knob.

"Are you allowed to do that?" Sasuke asked, suspicious.

"Yeah, aren't there any special security alarms or something?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, but they've been secretly set to turn off at 10:15 for us to enter," Kakashi informed them. "So I am not breaking and entering, if that is what you thought I was doing."

"Well, duh, who'd break into a house from the front door?"

All heads turned to look at Naruto, who looked back at all of them.

"What? Why are you guys looking at me? I didn't do anything!"

They turned back around and entered the house.

"Whoa, it's even bigger inside!" Ino exclaimed.

"Keep your thoughts to yourself," Sakura grumbled.

"Shut up..."

"It's warm in here," Shikamaru stated. Asuma pulled a chain that dangled above them, turning on the fan in the room they were in now, which wasn't really a designated room. A big staircase stood in front of them, leading upstairs, while on the left side was a hallway and doors, leading to what looked like a dining room. The right side was a mirror image of the left, only there was a kitchen instead.

"Well, here we are," Kakashi said, unnecessarily.

"In someone else's home," Asuma added loudly, looking at Chouji, who appeared to be looking for something, muttering something along the lines of "food," "kitchen," and "need food."

"Chouji, I can't believe all you think about is food!" Ino said, annoyed.

Shikamaru suddenly smirked and mumbled, "It's not..."

Chouji stopped his search, sporting a bright blush, and shuffled back to stand next to his friend.

"You promised not to tell!"

Naruto's ears perked at that and he stealthily slid over to the two and draped his arms around their shoulders casually. "Eh? A secret?" he whispered slyly. "I don't mean to pry, but, eh...what's up?"

Shikamaru turned to Chouji with a "can I tell him?" look. Chouji's face scrunched a little as he contemplated whether it'd be safe for his best friend to tell his secret. "Oh, fine."

"Chouji's got the hots for Ino," Shikamaru drawled, quietly of course, since said girl and the rest of the group had moved farther on already. Sakura and Ino were fighting again, verbally, so they probably wouldn't have heard, but the jounins were engaged in an intense, silent rock-paper-scissors match.

"EH?!!" Naruto cried, stepping back with a face of horror. "You like--"

"Shh!" Chouji hissed nervously, covering the blond's loud mouth. "Promise you won't tell anyone else, okay?"

Naruto just smiled.

"Oi, ladies. You done gossipping?" a voice said suddenly, very nearby. The three jumped in surprise.

"Gah! Teme! When did you get over here?!"

"Shortly before now," Sasuke replied. But he didn't look at Naruto when he answered. He was watching, with slight amusement, Chouji's nervous fidgeting and the blush on his round cheeks.

"Dammit!" Asuma cursed loudly.

"Ha! You lost," Kakashi declared. He held out his hand, palm up. "Hand them over, Asuma."

The loser of the rock-paper-scissors match grumbled but complied, and dug into the pockets of his pants. He set a box of cigarettes in Kakashi's hand. "There," he said.

But Kakashi wasn't satisfied. He held out his other hand, signifying so.

"Argh," Asuma growled, and snapped open the scroll pocket of his vest, letting a couple more cigarettes fall into his hand, that were dumped reluctantly into the waiting hand of Kakashi.

"I'm saving you, Asuma. You'll thank me later," the silver haired man said happily, tossing them out of the window. "Anyway, everybody! Let's start cleaning here. As you all can tell, it's a pretty big house and there's 3 floors plus a basement. Asuma and I will work on the basement--"

"Wait a minute, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura cut in, "how long do we have to clean the whole house?"

"Oh, well, uh, as long as it takes, actually."

"Why don't they clean their own house?" Ino demanded.

"Well, for one, they're elderly people, and two--"

"How do you expect old people to clean a mansion?"

"Ino, chill," Asuma said warningly, wanting to prefent another possible catfight.

"No more interruptions please," Kakashi pleaded. "Asuma and I, basement--"

"But isn't it cooler down there?" Chouji asked.

_Doesn't anybody ever listen to me...?_

"Hey, yeah, that's right!" Naruto shouted. "That's not fair! You guys get to work where it's not gonna be so hot and we'll be up here sweating and working our butts off!"

Kakashi sighed. "Okay, fine, Asuma and I work on the top floor, Naruto, you and Sasuke work on the second floor, Ino and Sakura go on the first, and Chouji and Shikamaru get the basement. No more arguments. Just move everything, vaccuum,mop, dust, or scrub, and then put everything back where they belong. Understood?"

"Got it," said everyone.

Asuma, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto headed up the stairs, while Shikamaru and Chouji went through the kitchen to the back door to get to the basement from outside. On the second floor, after Asuma and Kakashi kept going up, Sasuke stopped Naruto.

"What were you talking about earlier?"

"Huh? Oh. Chouji's got a crush on Ino." The blond suddenly grinned wickedly. "C'mon, Sasuke let's do it again!" (a/n: yes! Make out again! oh. whoops. wrong story...)

"Naruto, I don't think that'd be--"

"Why? Hook 'em up and you'll have one less fangirl again!"

"...Fine," Sasuke sighed. _Why am I letting myself be manipulated by dobe?_ he wondered to himself.


	10. The Hunt

Uwah!! sorry it was so late!!! gomen!!! got a little stuck... (sweatdrop)

* * *

Ino wiped the sweat from her brow and stretched out her limbs. "Urgh, finally done," she moaned. She glanced around the foyer that she had just finished cleaning, making sure it was satisfactory. "Hm!" she went, with a smile on her face. Then she walked to the room next door.

In the dining room, stacks of plates of all sizes, cups, tea pots, and goblets were all set out on the large table. Behind them, was Sakura, who wore a paper mask as she dusted the china cabinet.

"Don't they ever clean in here?" Ino heard Sakura mutter. "It's not impossible for dust to get in here..."

"Hey," Ino said loudly, making Sakura jump in surprise. _Wow, she must have been really focused on cleaning it if she didn't notice me,_ the blonde thought. "I'm done cleaning my room. I'll do that little bathroom next."

The pink haired kunoichi turned around and put her free hand on her hip. "Oh, right, and leave that big kitchen for me to do," Sakura said, rolling her eyes.

Ino retorted, "Hey, I did the foyer and all those closets!"

"Yeah, and there are, what, only _two small_ closets?"

"Alright, fine, I'll help you with the kitchen then," Ino reasoned, "but I'm still doing the bathroom."

"Whatever..."

Ino left Sakura to her dusting again and headed out the door for the bathroom. The light flickered a little when she flipped the switch. It was a very small, simple one, equipt with only a toilet, a sink, and a medicine cabinet, but...

"Eew," the blonde ninja declared, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "It smells, and there's mildew!" She opened the cabinet above the sink and said flatly, "Figures. More mold..."

She left the bathroom and trudged up the stairs. Hearing someone's voice when she got to the second floor, she stopped.

"Okay, so maybe I can get Sakura to switch places with him, and then he'll be with--"

Ino identified it as Naruto's voice, but she wondered why he was suddenly cut off. But Naruto spoke again.

"Hey, what gives, teme? AHH!"

Naruto's head appeared out from behind a doorway near Ino. "Oh, hi, Ino. Whatcha doin' up here?" he asked nervously, arousing her suspicions.

"I was going to ask Sasuke-kun if you guys have any mold remover stuff up here," Ino replied.

"Sasuke! Is there any mold cleaner stuff up here?" Naruto shouted into the doorway.

"No!" was the reply.

The blond scratched the back of his head as he thought. "Um...we don't have a bathroom up here (which is really stupid), but there's a closet in the hall, over there. You could check, but I doubt there's any in there."

"Oh. Okay." Ino walked to the closet mentioned and opened the door. "Nope...it's the linen closet."

"Yeah, figures," said Naruto. "It's mostly bedrooms up here. I can't believe there isn't a bathroom on this floor..."

Ino sighed and headed for the stairs. "I'll go up to the third floor and ask Sensei and Kakashi-san if they have any up there."

"Okay, see ya later, Ino!"

"Dobe, shut your mouth and get back in here. We have work to do."

"Bossy!"

...Third Floor...

"Mold cleaner?" Asuma repeated, stroking his beard. "I don't remember seeing any...Have you looked on the second floor?"

"Yeah, Sasuke-kun and Naruto said there wasn't any."

"What about the basement?"  
"I haven't looked there yet..."

"Go look then," Asuma suggested.

_What, am I supposed to be on some wild goose chase or something?!!_

Already halfway down the stairs, Ino shouted, "Thanks, Sensei!"

...First Floor...

"Still haven't found whatever you're looking for?" Sakura asked, when Ino walked through the kitchen she had started cleaning.

"I'm looking for mold remover," the blonde informed, "and no, I haven't found any yet. I'm going to the basement."

She pushed open the back door and stepped out into the hot, sunny day. _Ugh, wow, it's so hot! Those two lazy bums are lucky. _Ino walked around one corner of the house and then walked down cement stairs that started ground level and went downwards below. She sighed. _What a great temperature difference...it must be 10 degrees cooler down here than up there or something! ...okay, that's an exaggeration..._

...Basement...

"Ino?" someone said in surprise when the blonde kunoichi entered.

"Hey, Shikamaru. Chouji."

"I-ino! What are you doing here?" Chouji asked.

"Oh, I'm just wondering if you guys have seen any mold remover down here."

"Uh, um, I don't...think...we've seen any so far..." the chubby boy stuttered.

"We haven't gone around the whole place yet..." Shikamaru drawled, waving his hand around, "since you can see it's pretty big..."

"...?" Ino glared at them expectantly.

"...?"

"So? GO LOOK AROUND THEN!"

"Eh?! The whole place?"

"OF COURSE!"

"How troublesome..."

...10 Minutes Later...

"I think I've found some!" Chouji exclaimed.

"Really?" Within seconds, Ino came running up to him.

"Well, there was only one bottle...and it seems like there isn't much left..." He handed a grimy, old looking bottle to his teammate, who stared at it, before taking it.  
"I guess it'll do...for now..." Ino muttered. "Thanks so much, Chouji! I should have come down here first."

"Heh...bye, Ino," Chouji said as Ino went through to door to get back to the kitchen.

"Chouji...why are you blushing?"

"H-huh?"

...First Floor...

"Ha!" Ino shouted triumphantly. "I've gotten rid of you mold!!! Heh, hopefully no one else will need that mold remover stuff...that was just enough for me to use in here..."

She exited the bathroom and went to the kitchen to join Sakura.

"About time you're done!" Sakura said reproachfully.

"Well, what else have we got to do, Forehead girl?"

"Don't call me that, you pig!"

"Billboard brow!"

"You two...are worse than Naruto and me," a voice said behind them, annoyed.

The two kunoichi turned around. "Sasuke-kun?"

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked. "Did you and Naruto finish?"

"No," said the boy. "Kakashi told me to ask someone to come with me to pick up some items…"

Sakura and Ino gasped. _Ooh, Sasuke-kun has got to pick me!!!_ they both thought.

* * *

OHMIGOSH!! Who will Sasuke pick?!! TEH SUSPENSE!!! (shot) 


	11. Sasuke picks

GOMEN GOMEN GOMEN I"M SO SORRY I'M SO LATE!!! UWAAAH!!!! So...since it's been forever since i updtated (to me anyway) RECAP: (sorry nuthin' special :'( yeah)

"_No," said the boy. "Kakashi told me to ask someone to come with me to pick up some items…"_

_Sakura and Ino gasped. _Ooh, Sasuke-kun has got to pick me!!! _they both thought. _

11.

Sasuke's scrutinizing gaze wandered between the two kunoichi. Who would he choose?

_Pick me pick me pick me,_ both girls chanted in their head.

After what seemed like a long time, he finally declared, "Ino."

"_YES_!!!" the blonde screamed, making the other two wince. She punched th air in triumph and jabbed a finger at Sakura's face. "HA! Sasuke-kun picked _me_ over _you_."

Sakura moaned and sunk to the floor, not believing. "How? How how how how how?!!"

"Oh stop moping. Still like Sasuke? You're already going out with Lee!" Ino smirked and latched onto the boy's arm. "So Sasuke-kun, what do we need to get, hm?"

"Mold remover, brushes for scrubbing, and rags," Sasuke recited.

"No problem! And..." Ino blushed. "Maybe afterwards we can get a little something to eat before coming back?" she suggested hopefully.

Suddenly a scream, crash, and clatter was heard from the floor above. All three heads looked up at the ceiling.

"Naruto?"

Sasuke sighed. "That stupid dead-last honestly can't do _anything_ right."

"Yeah, what an idiot," Ino agreed hastily.

Sakura defended, "He's not _always_ such a failure though...sometimes..."

Sasuke pried his arm out of Ino's grip.He muttered, "It should only be a moment," and headed upstairs.

It was silent for a very short moment, as Sasuke was still going up the stairs and looking for Naruto, but shortly loud voices were heard, for the two were yelling and shouting at each other and more small crashes, clangs, and thuds of smallish objects falling down were heard. Another short silence and Sasuke appeared at the stairs. He stopped halfway down.

"Dobe got himself stuck underneath an avalanche of junk from a closet."

"What the hell?" Sakura shouted. "Is he a ninja or not?!!"

"Really," Ino huffed.

"I have to help get him out," Sasuke grumbled.

Ino was infuriated. "What?! Why not make Sakura do it so you can go with me?"

"Hell no!" Sakura screeched.

"Naruto...insisted on me. Too embarrassed to have Sakura see him like that."

Sakura snorted. "He'd better be embarrassed!"  
"Ino, you''ll have to find someone else to go the to store. I think Chouji--"

Another crash and scream was heard upstairs, and sasuke turned his head and yelled, "Usuratonkachi! I told you not to move!"

"Teme hurry up and get me out then!"  
Sasuke gritted his teeth and stomped up the stairs, leaving the two girls. One looked crestfallen while the other looked deligted. The delighted one turned and smiled sweetly.

"Well, have fun at the store with Chouji."

"Shut up," Ino snapped, but she sighed and went to the kitchen and out the door, wheer she kept on till she reached the door to the basement. Opening the door and sticking her head in, she called out, somewhat reluctant, "CHOUJI!"

The boy almost instantly appeared, a slight flush in his face. "Yes, Ino?"

"We need to go to the store to get some stuff," she grumbled.

"Really? You wanted me to go with you?"

"Well, Sasuke-kun asked me, but then stupid Naruto ruined it, so I had to come and ask you..."

Chouji looked down dejectedly. "Oh..."

"So are you coming or not?"

"Um, sorry, I can't...but Shikamaru can go with you."

"Then tell him to get his lazy ass here fast."

A voice not too far away and not too happy drawled, "I'm already here. Stop nagging."

"Get out here, lazy!"

...Second Floor, a few seconds later...

Two boys peered out the window from the sides.

"Hey, that's not Chouji..."

"Really? I couldn't tell," Sasuke replied sarcastically.

Naruto glared and stuck out his tongue at the boy across from him.

"Meh, we'll have to try again later," Naruto mumbled. "Poor Chouji."

* * *

gah, finaly done..sorry for all the typos. school blocked like a whole bunch of sites. T.T it sucks. theyb blocked deviantart!!! (cries) well, hope you enjoyed! sorry if it's really short...i can't tel...


	12. Piggy and Deer Go 2 Market

My teeth hurt like hell. T.T I have to get braces soon, so i got the little rubber bands placed in between my teeth, spacers, and they really hurt, and one of them feels like it'll fall out soon. I had noodles and scrambled egg with soysauce paste...not much nutrition, but it's pretty much all i could eat then. (cries) ooowwwww...

I'm turning this in for language arts class. :D i gotz an A plus woot!! (if i turn this in tomorrow)

Is it just me or are these chapters getting shorter? (sweatdrop)

12.

Their sandaled feet made quiet shuffling noises on the dirt road as Ino and Shikamaru made their way to the store. For a while no words were exchanged between them, but then Shikamaru spoke up, out of the blue.

"You know, Ino, you should take it easy on him."

Ino turned to look at him. "Who?" she asked.

"You know who," Shikamaru replied.

"Mm," Ino mumbled, looking down.

"Just...y'know, take it easy on Chouji. You've been snapping at him for no reason lately. It makes him feel really bad, and he thinks he did something wrong."

"O-okay."

They resumed walking in silence. Ino folded and refolded the large canvas tote they had brought along to hold the purchases they would soon be laden with later on. Naturally, Shikamaru noticed the un-Ino-like behavior.

"Something wrong?" he inquired.

The girl sighed. "Well, honestly, I don't really mean to be like that to Chouji. It's just that..."

Shikamaru waited patiently as his teammate tried to find her words.

"Sakura's going out with Lee now, so she can't really compete with me for Sasuke now, and she's like my biggest rival, really, so I've just got the really big chance to finally at least get a date with him...and..." She paused, again, lost for words, but Shikamaru understood.

They remained quiet as they reached their destination, the supermarket. Shikamaru wheeled along the cart when they got inside and Ino recited the list again out loud.

"Mold remover, scrubbing brushes, and rags. Right, um, they should be...somewhere over there, I think," she declared, somewhat to herself. She led the way, and Shikamaru trailed behind.

"I don't know what you girls see in him," he drawled, as Ino dropped a couple of bottles of mold remover in the cart. She looked up in astonishment.

"You mean Sasuke?" she asked in a shrill voice full of astonishment.

"Yeah."

"He's like, the cutest boy in the whole of Konoha!" she screeched. Shikamaru winched and stuffed his finger in his ear to help block out the sound. When his ears stopped ringing he retorted, "But he cares about no one except that brother of his that he wants to kill so much."

Ino contradicted, "No way! That's not true!"

The boy raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, well," the blonde stuttered, "if he had someone _to _care for, he would, I bet! I mean, really, Shikamaru, he lost his whole clan because of his brother! Anyway, if he had a girlfriend, possibly me, he'd be sure to care for me." She became starry-eyed as well-rehearsed fantasies played in her mind. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and wheeled the cart into the next aisle.

Ino dropped a package of rangs into the cart and turned to Shikamaru.

"Hey, is that it?" she asked. He shrugged, causing Ino to roll her eyes and reply to her own question, "Yeah, I think so."

Food items were on the right side of the store, right in front of the main doors, while the other merchandise was on the other side. THey walked past the many aisles of food, packaged and fresh, till they reached the paying counters.

While the unenthusiastic woman scanned their items, Ino suddenly wandered away, leaving her teammate behind, slightly vexed. Shortly, she returned, dropping a bag of chips on the counter just as the last item was scanned, and the cashier, who groaned loudly, was just about to calculate the total and tax.

"I thought you were on a diet?" Shikamaru asked.

Ino replied, "I am. This is for Chouji."

Then Shikamaru smiled so warmly Ino could have sworn she felt her chest constrict sharply and her heart skip a beat. She gasped and reflexively wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"You okay?" the boy asked, concerned.

"Y-yeah," she mumbled. Realizing what she was doing, she chuckled nervously and lied, "Stomach cramps."

Shikamaru looked skeptical, but he did not question further and turned to the cashier to pay. Meanwhile the blonde found herself extremely confused. What was that feeling she just felt? She'd never experienced it before; it was completely new. It troubled her greatly.

"Hey, Ino." Shikamaru's voice wrenched her out of her thoughts. "Ino, the bag?"

"Oh, right, " she said, embarrassed, and gave him the canvas tote.

Shikamaru dropped their purchases into the tote, placing the chips carefully on the top so they would not be crushed, and slung it over his shoulder. That left his hands with freedom to push the shopping cart back in their designated area.

Ino was still wondering on the way home. The awkward silence prevailed from before. When they returned to the house, Shikamaru picked up the chips and gave it to Ino. He smiled encouragingly.

"Thanks, Ino," he said, and went inside the house from the front door.

The girl glanced down at the bright foil bag advertising the "delicious BBQ flavor". She was supposed to give it to her teammate, Chouji, but something felt strange. She pushed the feeling away for it to be replaced with sudden shyness as she rounded the corner of the house to approach the back door to the basement.

Entering the dim coolness, compared to the bright and hot summer weather outside, she called out, "Chouji?"

The chubby boy appeared with a welcoming smile. "Oh, you're back, Ino!"

"Yeah, um..." She held out the bag of chips to him. "Here."

He broke out into a big grin and received the bag of his favorite snacks. "Thank you very much, Ino!" he said enthusiastically.

"You're welcome," she smiled back in reply.


End file.
